January 7th 2013

"Well, Mr Shelton?"

Josie sat in Sheriff Fowler's office with Fowler and Inspector Charles Santon of Scotland Yard, as they questioned Tom Shelton, now in police custody, on charges of murder and for aiding and abating the now dismantled Red Hand Brotherhood terrorist faction, which had fallen the previous night.

It had been two days since Alan had shown up on her doorstep in the middle of the night, accompanied by those giant talking rabbits from the future. That very same night Josie had learned that her husband and Alan had disappeared after being thrown forward in time by the mysterious Aurora, which had been a wormhole. Stranded in the future, they had discovered the grim realisation that the human race was not meant to survive, and facing extinction within the next few decades. And that wasn't even the biggest problem at hand.

As it turned out, Alan's amazing journey hadn't only been a first-hand tour of the world of the future, but also a journey of self-discovery. Among the many surprises he had encountered, the most unexpected of all had been to finally confront the murderer of his wife and daughter face-to-face, the person who had stolen his life away, now having returned to finish the job. And he hadn't been just any killer, as the authorities had assumed.

Alan's terrible misfortune had been due to the fact that he and his family were being targeted by the infamous Red Hand Brotherhood. According to their hitman Mr Robbins, Alan's late wife had been secretly entrusted with information, which could expose Red Hand and its plans to the authorities, including the existence its top-secret EMP satellite Project Black Inferno, which was being prepared for an orbital nuclear strike. With their entire project in jeopardy, Red Hand's leader Sergey Petrograd, a fanatical former Soviet, had ordered the information recovered at all costs, and any witnesses, including the Johnson family, killed.

Following the murder of Alan's wife and daughter, but with the evidence still not found, Red Hand had continued watching Alan's every move from the shadows for months, hoping he might know something and would lead them to the punch. Until finally, two weeks ago, it had been decided that he knew nothing and that they would be far better off with him dead.

Posing as a documentarian, Robbins had 'hired' Alan and Derek as scientific consultants for a documentary of the bombed New Forest area, intent on killing them in mid-flight over the dead zone. However, his plans had been unexpectedly interrupted, when he had found himself alongside his intended victims, huddled forward into the future. However, after assessing his situation and realising the rare opportunity presented to him, he had decided to stick to his original plan.

As it turned out, in the original future, Red Hand had simply aborted following Sergey's death from a heart attack last week, taking the secret location of the satellite's power modules to the grave with him. Robbins however, being Sergey's most influential trustee, had also known the secret location and decided to use it to his advantage. Allying himself with a certain General Woundwort, the descendant of the very rabbit that would someday overthrow the human race, and who was still waging war against any opposition, Robbins has set out to destroy Alan and his friends.

Believing he could easily manipulate the power-hungry warlord for his own dark ends, Robbins, with the cooperation of his new ally, had retrieved the scattered components of Project Black Inferno from their secret burial sites. Picking up where Sergey had left off, he had planned on using his old faction's weapon of mass destruction to wipe out the future world, including his new associates, as well as Alan's party, and escape in the chaos with a bounty that would be worth a fortune back in the 21st century.

However, Alan, also aware of Woundwort's treat from his knowledge of the Watership Down story, from which the future world had originated from, had attempted to strike first with the help of his new friends. Despite their efforts, the outcome had been nothing but a complete failure on both sides; Project Black Inferno had been launched in the conflict, unleashing its catastrophic power upon the future world. Alan, with his five surviving friends had managed to escape, by fleeing back to the 21st century; their new mission, to change the course of history. And that meant a direct confrontation with the Red Hand Brotherhood, to remove Project Black Inferno from the equation and spare the future world from the destruction that had befallen it.

Using all the information he had gathered throughout his journey in the future, as well as any leads Josie had been able to give him, Alan and his companions had embarked on their new mission. For a whole day and night, Josie had once again sat worrying; but this time it wasn't so much about her husband, as about Alan. After hearing his story on the night of his return, she had realised that her only chance of ever finding her husband and son again rested entirely on her old friend. Then, the impossible had happened.

Alan, with only his five rabbit friends, and Dr Drake - the foretold creator of the future world - on his side, had emerged triumphant. The Red Hand Brotherhood was finished, its faction members dead or arrested, their headquarters destroyed, and Project Black Inferno lost in deep space forever. Unfortunately, Alan had heroically 'perished' in the destruction of Buxton Hall before he could have his name cleared of the crimes Red Hand had smeared it with…or so the world would ever know.

Inspector Santon, the investigator who had originally been assigned to hunt down the fugitive Alan, after discovering the truth, had volunteered to help them fulfil the last part of their mission: make sure the secret of the future was buried forever, which meant getting the rabbits and the now-declared-dead Alan, as well as the small group of people he had selected, including Josie and Santon, safely back to the future, where they intended to build a new world with their rabbit friends.

Tom Shelton, Red Hand's facilitator, had been arrested the night before after a confrontation with Alan, which had landed him in a frozen lake from where the police had fished him out, frostbitten and hypothermic, but still alive. Following his discharge from hospital, the police had been restlessly grilling him for information, desperate for more leads on the escaped Red Hand Brotherhood faction members, including Sergey's short-lived, ruthless successor Sven Shertok, who was currently on the top of Scotland Yard's most wanted criminal list.

Although Josie had been horrified to learn that the father of her son's best friend was a murderer, she hadn't taken long to realise that Shelton probably knew something more about her son, which he had apparently withheld from her earlier. Alan had already confirmed that her husband was still stranded in the future, but had known nothing about Jamie's fate, making her feel uncertain, as to whether or nor she was on the right trail. And to clear up that mystery, she needed to hear the full story from Tom Shelton's own lips.

With Santon's help, she was able to get a brief audience with Shelton, who was currently being denied any unauthorised visitors other than his lawyer, while waiting to be transported to a Scotland Yard holding facility, pending his trial. The flight controller now sat in handcuffs at the table, several of his fingers bandaged from the frostbite he had suffered following his plunge into the lake, looking very nervous indeed.

"All right, I did see the boy," he stammered, as he launched into the full story of what had happened the night Jamie had disappeared. He told them how the boy had come to see him at his house, bringing his father's insurance money with him, and how Shelton, desperate to pay off his debts, since Sergey hadn't paid him, had traded the glider for the money. He also told them how he had found Kenny at the flight club the following morning in a state of shock, who told him what had happened.

"And you didn't tell anyone?" screeched Josie incredulously, her eyes flashing with anger, "You just let my 13-year-old son trade my husband's money for that confounded glider and then kept quiet about it?! What kind of a person are you?" Shelton didn't reply, refusing to look at Josie, apparently regretting his actions. Or was it something else?

"What about your son, Mr Shelton?" continued Santon, his voice frosty, "We have had people trying to bring him in for questioning all day and he is nowhere to be found. We already know from that deed of sale we found at your house that you invested the money for a hot-air balloon for your club, which seems to be missing as well I might add. Conning a child into doing such a dirty business bargain is easy but keeping it a secret is another, Mr Shelton. Perhaps you thought your son might start blabbing soon or later and decided to do something drastic about it?"

Whatever Shelton had done to Kenny, Josie never found out for certain; that very night, Tom Shelton was shot dead in his holding cell, along with any other captured Red Hand faction members, sparing him a lifetime in prison. His murderer, Sven Shertok escaped and was never apprehended.

As for Josie, she went ahead with her decision and departed with Alan and the others the very next day. In order to justify her disappearance, she had informed old Mike that she had decided to leave town for good and move away, the memories of her late family being too unbearable, and had forwarded her old home and all her husband's possessions to him. Santon, unfortunately, came down with a bad hernia and was hospitalised the night before departure, consequently missing the one and only flight to the new world, before the Aurora receded, making any further time-travelling impossible.

By next Christmas, the entire McEwen family were nothing more than a tragic, yet popular tale, recited to passing tourists by locals. The story of Alan Johnson became an even more popular legend in those parts, almost surpassing the tale of Watership Down itself, attracting curious spectators to his empty grave in Newtown Churchyard, in the years that followed. Little did the world realise that the McEwen family wasn't entirely gone from this world, but rather living in another day and age…

March 16th 2791, Newtown Churchyard

Jamie, Hannah and Ash stood on the edge of Newtown Churchyard, where they had left the repaired glider last night. Now, the only thing that could be found were some small tyre tracks across the clearing, from where the glider had taken off while they had been asleep, and some footprints the thieves had left behind.

They had woken up that morning to find Robbins gone; Cowslip had denied any knowledge of why he had left or where he had gone. Hurrying back to the landing site, Jamie's worst fear was instantly confirmed: his new companion had set off on the search and rescue for his father without him, apparently intent to avoid any further arguments of Jamie coming along. Or so he thought.

"That's odd," Ash said, picking up an unfamiliar scent, "His tracks lead back here all right; only, he seems to have been accompanied by some other rabbits when he took off…strangers, judging by the scent. There is something very wrong here…"

"Maybe some of Cowslip's rabbits volunteered to join him in the search?" Jamie suggested, feeling puzzled, "It doesn't make sense…"

"No more sense than why he would take any of those weirdoes back there as his escorts, rather than us," Hannah added, also feeling baffled, "Cowslip's bunch are idle as sheep; frankly, I am not sure if we are dealing with sane rabbits or retards…"

"So what do we do now, Ash?" asked Jamie, feeling lost; being stranded centuries away from his home and with his glider now taken, he was fresh out of ideas for any further plans. Ash considered for a moment, his Owsla training kicking in.

"I think it's best that we stay put and wait; Robbins explained his plan and expects to meet us back here when he returns. We'll give him three days; if he doesn't show up by then, we'll renew the plan accordingly. That's safer than to try following him on foot."

With no better suggestions to offer, they turned and headed back to the warren. By that time, Cowslip's rabbits were also awake and coming outside to catch the morning breeze before breakfast. Jamie had half-expected their hosts to be more…aware by now, but instead saw the same near-trance-like state he had observed last night.

Unfamiliar with how these rabbits got their meals, they followed them to a small clearing close to the warren, where they were all gathering around a large pile of greeneries, including lettuce, carrots, potatoes, celery, mallow, apples and berries, which Jamie couldn't remember seeing there last night, much less knowing where they had come from. However, his hunger was too much for him to concern himself with that at the moment.

Although the food was wholesome and good, much of the stuff was dirty and soggy, indicating that it wasn't kept under ideal storage conditions, probably harvested from the wild. While his friends hungrily helped themselves to the vegetables, which were an aristocratic dish for their normally simple vegetarian diet of coltsfoots and dandelions, Jamie picked out an armful of the best greens for his breakfast. Then came another problem: the apples and lettuce he could eat raw just like his friends; other stuff however, like the potatoes, would need cooking first.

Walking a safe distance away, to give himself some privacy, he got to work, preparing his first hot lunch. Since he had no cooking utensils of any kind, the only method of cooking would have to be roasting. After consulting his SAS guide for the safety rules of campfires, with Hannah's help, he got to work building the fire. After placing several stones in a small circle, improvising a hearth, he started gathering all the dry wood he could find, while the confused Hannah gathered all the tinder she could find, in the form of twigs and dry weeds, according to Jamie's instructions.

Soon, the fuel for the fire lay neatly stacked on the hearth, awaiting the spark. Opening up the survival tin he had salvaged from the chopper, he took out the box of matches; ten waterproof matches, enough for a ten-day survival period in the wilderness, after which, it would require the flints to keep making fires. Flashing Hannah a smile, he struck the match on the rough side of the box; the mouse gave a yelp of fear and run to hide behind Jamie, as the seemingly insignificant twig her friend was holding, burst into flame at the tip. Soon, they had a roaring campfire going.

Skewering one potato on the end of his knife, he held it over the fire, slowly turning it over every few minutes, baking it. But without any experience in cooking – his mother had always been the cook in the house – it took some trial and error, as well as several wasted potatoes, burned charcoal black on the outside and the inside still raw, before he finally got it right. An hour later, he had several baked potatoes ready for serving.

When he tried to offer Hannah a share, the mouse hesitated, cringing in disgust at the sight of the sizzled, smoky potato. She sniffed cautiously, taking in the alien smell of cooked food. However, her curiosity and hunger soon overpowered, her sense of smell telling her it was something good. Taking a hasty bite, her eyes bulged in delight; it was definitely far more appetizing than stale seeds and fruit she was accustomed to.

He was just about to help himself to lunch as well, when he heard a faint moan beside him; Snitter was sitting in an attention posture, licking his lips, his eyes wide in protest. Jamie sighed, realising his canine friend hadn't had anything to eat since leaving home and was starving. He would have to provide some suitable nourishment for him as well, and soon.

Looking around, he saw several wormholes nearby. Although obviously not as good as canned dogfood, it was better than trying to make him a vegetarian like a rabbit. Gathering up as many worms as he could find, he wrapped them around a stick, preparing a gruesome kebab, fit only for a dog's diet…maybe. After roasting the 'kebab', turning the rubbery worm flesh to a tender peccary, and adding some baked potato skins to improve the taste, he turned to the hungry dog, which was wagging his tail excitedly for the upcoming meal.

Hannah cringed in disgust as Snitter took a few uncertain sniffs at his new menu, before devouring the wormroll with great gusto, finally satisfying his hunger, "Does he always eat disgusting stuff like that? It makes me sick to even think of sharing his meal…"

"Then would you rather I offer you up to him as a mouseburger instead?" asked Jamie humorously, giving Hannah a playful nudge. Although slightly taken aback by the suggestion, she grinned, realising her human friend was just being funny. "Not in your wildest dreams, ithe!"

Suddenly, they were caught off-guard by a frightened gasp; turning, they saw two of Cowslip's rabbits standing nearby, looking terrified at the sight of the fire, their trance suddenly forgotten. They've been pretending to be in a trance? thought Jamie in surprise as he watched the two rabbits continue to fret.

"Frith of Inle, fire! Get back Marigold!" shouted the pale brown buck with olive-green eyes to his companion, before rounding on Jamie as well, "You dumb ithe, get away from that thing! If you touch it, it will burn you alive!" The rabbit, apparently thinking Jamie was messing with something he had no idea how dangerous it was, like a careless kitten, looking scared stiff with terror. His fear turned to confusion as he saw Jamie, having realised what the fuss was all about, chuckling in amusement, "What in Frith's name…?"

"Relax pal; this is a controlled fire, not a bushfire. There is nothing to worry about. It's quite safe," he said, striking another match in demonstration, causing them to gasp in amazement at his 'magic powers'. Although the rabbits seemed all but convinced at Jamie's reassurance, jumping at the slightest crackle of the burning wood, they eased up somewhat, their curiosity starting to kick in. In contrast to the idle, lifeless behaviour they had displayed so far, now, as if suddenly nudged out of their shells by their shock of Jamie's fire, they looked just as awake and alert as every other rabbit Jamie had met in this world.

Whatever is causing them to play idle, certainly hasn't crushed their spirit, Jamie thought with a frown, suddenly becoming suspicious. Why would these rabbits want to put up an act of idleness, only to be caught red-handed in an unexpected moment of surprise? What could they be hiding? Seeing his chance to find out, he introduced himself and Hannah, trying to make friendly conversation, pretending he hadn't noticed their curious change of attitude.

The pair introduced themselves as Hickory and his mate Marigold. Both were natives of Cowslip's warren; Hickory's parents had been former hlessil, who had joined Cowslip's warren long ago, but had since passed away, while Marigold was one of Cowslip's two daughters, and betrothed to Hickory. Her sister Nildrohein had similarly been betrothed to another of Cowslip's people, a rabbit called Strawberry, but they too had also recently died in 'an unfortunate accident', according to Cowslip.

Jamie told his two new friends about himself, his home, and the journey that had brought him here. The rabbits looked utterly amazed at the description of Jamie's home time, a world they could hardly imagine, let alone seen before.

"What's life like, where you come from?" asked Hickory, his growing excitement suddenly taking on a touch of sadness, almost as if he envied Jamie's happy life.

"Where my friends and family are, it's all the same to me," Jamie said, reflecting on his happy childhood, one that was now ruined forever, "Too bad the human world isn't as peaceful and pristine as this place though. Violence, pollution, poverty and warfare is becoming the order of every day, all around the world…"

"What wouldn't we give to have a life like yours Jamie…"muttered Marigold with a sad sigh before suddenly falling silent, putting her paws up to her mouth, her eyes wide with terror, as if she had just spoken some forbidden words. Jamie too found that statement rather odd, given that, at first glance, these rabbits had no reason not to be happy. After all, they had a fine warren, plenty of food, each other's companionship… Then again, what was their peculiar behaviour all about? Could it be linked?

Before he could build up the courage to inquire about it however, they were suddenly interrupted by Cowslip, who emerged from the foliage without warning, wearing an expression of a parent having caught his children up to mischief.

"Sharing secrets are we, friends? And you didn't ask me to join you?" he asked in his usual sickly sweet voice, which made the rabbits visibly shudder and even sent a chill down Jamie's spine. "Tut tut, Hickory and Marigold, now what have I told you about not being a nuisance to our guest?"

"Hey, they weren't being a nuisance pal, we were just talking…" But Cowslip paid Jamie no attention as he shooed Hickory and Marigold away, leaving a bewildered Jamie standing alone with Hannah still perched on his shoulder. Ash and the others, who had also heard the commotion, came up to Jamie as they watched Cowslip lead his daughter and son-in-law back to the warren, like a sheep dog keeping his master's flock in check.

"What was all that about?" asked Ash, also sharing Jamie's suspicions that something was seriously wrong here. In spite of the mystery of Cowslip's strange warren, the thought of his father and in what condition Robbins was likely to find him – if he ever did – quickly pushed the Cowslip mystery out of the boy's mind.

Cowslip led the two nervous rabbits back underground for a private lecture. Casting a quick glance to ensure there was no one else around to watch him disciplining the pair, he rounded on History and Marigold, his face now a mask of burning rage.

"You miserable little wretch!" he hissed at his daughter, looking as if about to cuff her across the face, "I thought I said the young ithe was not to be spoken to and that includes attracting his attention in any way. And now I catch you…"

"We were only talking Cowslip, honest!" protested Hickory, coming to his mate's defence, "He was telling us about his world…" But Cowslip was beyond listening to excuses.

"Defy me again – either of you – and I will see to it that you share the boy's fate. Don't think you can warn him behind my back; that traitor Silverweed may be gone but I can hear every word that is being exchanged between any rabbit in my warren. Your dear sister and her hrakamarli mate have probably got their comeuppance by now; my other daughter going the same bad way would be such a pity…" he muttered, the insane gleam reappearing in his eyes. Without another word, he turned and strode back outside, leaving the frightened pair to reflect on everything their master had just said.

Marigold had been born to a litter of three; herself, her sister Nildrohein, and her late brother Laburnum. Throughout her life, she and her friends had been living under the shadow of her insane father, who literally had their entire existence outlined for them according to the norms of his philosophy of 'an easy life.' In contrast to normal rabbits, which gave all elil a wide berth, the ancestral founder of their warren, Greenweed had perverted their natural status by making a 'pact' with the deadliest of creatures: Man.

An ambitious fellow, dedicated to bring rabbitkind out of its miserable existence of hardships, hunger and enemies, as well as inspired by the easy life humanity's powers provided, Greenweed had set out to make his people dependant on their savage descendants, which still retained some of their extinct ancestors' primitive skills of hunting and food gathering. As far as he was concerned, the price of being dependant on a natural enemy for their own welfare outweighed the difficulties of life as independent rabbits.

According to the legend, Greenweed had employed the powers of mystic rabbits to tap into the minds of those unintelligent humanoids, training them as 'custodians' for his warren, at the price of sacrificing some of his people to them at random intervals, to retain the pact. Woundwort's ancestor Hemlock had also made a similar pact – which he had broken after it had served its purpose however – by training more of the humanoids as muscle against their intelligent predecessors, on the former's suggestion and instruction, earning Greenweed's warren eternal amnesty from Efrafa's conquering forces in return.

Cowslip - Greenweed's direct descendant - was the current keeper of the pact, as well as the most fanatical. Starting with her mother when she and her siblings had still been kittens, Marigold had watched her friends and family slowly disappear one by one as time went by. Although it was common knowledge that those missing had been taken as food by the humanoids on their visits, leaving the rest of the warren with a fresh and ample supply of food, as well as chasing away any elil that came too close.

As per Greenwood's plan, their warren had no fear of enemies, predators or starvation; there was only one thing to fear…a secret that was always kept well hidden behind Cowslip's law of pretending it wasn't there at all. Indeed, the instant a rabbit went missing, his existence was entirely erased, his name never spoken again. Cowslip was firm when it came to that and ruthlessly punished anyone who disobeyed him or opposed his authority. And the key instrument to enforce it was his deputy, Silverweed.

A descendant of Greenweed's original mystics, the rabbit used his mind-penetrating powers to keep the humanoids, as well as Cowslip's subjects, in check via mental influencing. Then, only a few days ago, Cowslip's firm control had suffered a devastating blow from the arrival of some strange visitors.

A group of hungry hlessil, led by several talking humans, had come seeking shelter. Cowslip, whose warren's population had been decreasing recently due to an overexploitation by the humanoids, had admitted them with open paws, secretly intent on offering them up as the next sacrifice to their custodians, as he did with all unsuspecting newcomers, which soon fell victim to Silverweed's powers.

It came as quite a surprise to him however, when it turned out that these strangers already knew of Cowslip's dark pact and had come to undo it! Sure enough, in the ensuing confrontation, Silverweed had been incapacitated, momentarily losing his psychic grip over everyone's minds.

It was like waking up from a deep sleep; with Silverweed's controlling presence in their minds interrupted, Marigold and her people suddenly found themselves 'awake' again: their fear for their tharn lives and their will to oppose their mad leader was now stronger than ever. Nildrohein and Strawberry hadn't hesitated to seize the opportunity at the first instance and joined the hlessil; the others however, hesitant and confused, had turned down the offer.

Meanwhile, Cowslip, furious at his two subjects deserting, hadn't wasted any time in trying to clean up the mess the hlessil had caused; to his utmost outrage, he had found that Silverweed, who seemed to have had some change of heart after his encounter with the strangers, was no longer willing to do his bidding, and had soon deserted himself. A furious and desperate Cowslip had been left to deal with his rapidly declining grip over his subjects on his own. As a result, his usually sickly sweet nature had suddenly become violent and abusive, in a desperate effort to maintain control, by threats and intimidation.

Marigold, being Cowslip's last surviving child, after his intended heir Laburnum had been taken before he could take over his father's place for which he was being taught, and Nildrohein had deserted, was the one currently receiving the worst of her father's abuse. Desperate for a reliable heir to continue his ancestor's pact, Cowslip intended to force her and Hickory into making his philosophy their virtue, by breaking their spirit if necessary. However, in spite of all the abuse and threatening them and their friends, without Silverweed's powers to manipulate their minds into submission, their determination for a proper life was proving too strong to suppress. However, they still lacked the courage and the ability to strike back without help.

The arrival of Jamie's group had been a Frith-sent opportunity for the pair; having deeply regretted their rash decision to turn down the opportunity of escape presented by their previous visitors, Marigold was determined not to miss this second - and possibly last - chance for freedom. Fully aware of her father's plan to have the young ithe and his friends killed in revenge, she knew they had to do something. But how?

At sundown that evening, Jamie found himself on the edge of the graveyard, accompanied by his friends, building the signal fire Robbins had instructed them to make, so the latter could find his way back. His friends had finished digging a pit to serve as a hearth, which Jamie then started filling with firewood. By nightfall, they had a roaring bonfire going, visible for several miles in any direction, lighting up the clearing. The glider's distress transmitter was duct-taped to a nearby tree, still pointlessly beaming its emergency signal on the air, in the unlikely possibility that someone out there might hear it, its battery slowly dying.

Making themselves comfortable on the grass around the fire, the group sat, enjoying their evening, waiting for the flames to die down, before they could retire for the night. With the fire keeping any lurking predators at bay, there was no fear of attack, making it more comfortable above ground than in the stuffy, cramped burrows below.

With Nightshade playing a game of Bobstones with Willow, and Ash stargazing with Celandine, Jamie sat with Hannah on a nearby tombstone, taking inventory of everything he had, and how he could use it best, now that he knew he was to be struck here for a long while, maybe for good.

From the glider kit, he still had the first aid pouch, the marker and the flashlight; these would be of good use as long as the batteries, ink and medical supplies held out. Also, he still had the distress flare – the only thing that could be used as a weapon -, which he was carefully saving for any absolute emergency. His survival guide and knife were proving to be his most valuable assets out here and he'd better watch them with his life. Likewise, the survival tin from the chopper was a small treasure chest, its precious contents of flints, clips, fishing hooks, blades, thread, needles, and saw-wire providing him with the essentials for making many useful tools. Finally, his cell phone would serve as a means of recording his visual log, as long as the battery and memory lasted, after which he would have to switch to his notebook and pencil for recording his adventures.

As he sat there, entertaining Hannah with the latest log entry he had recorded with her, they were suddenly caught off guard by Ash, who sat up in alarm. The others turned to look at him in surprise, "Ash, what's up your ear bucko?"

"Quiet, everyone!" the Owsla veteran snapped, sniffing the air, having picked up a new scent lurking nearby, "I think we have company…" They all turned to look in the direction of the woods; sure enough, they saw a rustling in the distance, indicating something – or someone – was approaching, their signal fire apparently having caught his attention. Jamie's eyes instantly darted to Snitter; to his utmost surprise, his faithful dog, instead of growling in warning of an approaching enemy, was waging his tail excitedly, barking cheerfully, as if recognising a familiar scent.

Taking out his flashlight, Jamie shone it in the direction of the approaching newcomer; the beam of light fell upon the dark silhouette of a figure emerging from the trees. The boy gasped in surprise as he recognised the outline of a human being! The stranger seemed to be limping in a crouched position, almost dragging himself, as if from an injury or perhaps mere exhaustion, heading straight towards them, before his last ounce of strength finally left him and he collapsed.

Breaking into a run, Jamie hurried towards the fallen figure. Could it be Robbins, returning from his search? Was he injured? Or maybe it was his father, having escaped and found his way to them? He stopped dead in his tracks as the flashlight revealed the face of the unconscious figure lying on the ground. It wasn't Robbins at all; it wasn't his father either; and it wasn't even Johnson.

It was Kenny.

Jamie gasped in shock as he recognised none other that his best friend, whom he had given up for long dead, lying battered and exhausted at his feet. A quick glance told him that Kenny must have had a hell of a rough time getting here; his oversized clothes were shredded and mud-caked, with ghastly scratches and bruises visible on every bit of exposed skin. But, to Jamie's utmost relief, he was still alive…barely.

Five minutes later, Jamie and his group were hurryingly carrying the unconscious Kenny down to the warren for treatment. Jamie, heaving at Kenny's weight on his shoulders, had his mind racing. How could his friend have found his way into the future? Was he alone? And what was he doing here in the first place? Many uneasy thoughts went through the boy's head, as well as a bad feeling for Mr Robbins and his story of what had happened to his father…

Author's note: Sorry for the delay but I am working as a teacher now and my fanfiction writing time is limited. For those of you who have read me first story carefully might remember that balloon Alan and co found and used to fly to Efrafa; that had been Tom Shelton's, which he had purchased on McEwen's insurance money as a replacement for his lost Cessna and glider. How Kenny found his way into the future will be explained in the next chapter. ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW!